Friday, December 02, 2005

The Mystery of Don Chilito's

When I last visited Don Chilito’s Mexican Restaurant, Ronald Reagan was president and I was a teenage hoodrat.

My tastes were less discriminating then, but I recall thinking that Don Chilito’s served the most forgettable Mexican food I’d ever eaten.

After a twenty year absence, I returned for lunch on Thursday to the same establishment at the intersection of Metcalf and Johnson Drive. It’s still bad. The emphasis on bland ground beef, cheese and salsa is no different than the offerings at elementary school cafeterias on their monthly Mexican day. Taco Bell’s kitchen turns out the same counterfeit-Mexican menu at half the price.

But what do I know? Don Chilito’s was packed with happy customers Thursday afternoon. As a sneering teen and as a paunchy man, I clearly don't understand what constitutes a successful restaurant in Kansas City.

I just spent 4 hours at Shawnee Mission Medical Center watching my wife puke up Don Chilito's. It looked the same coming up as going down. How this place is allowed to stay in business is beyond reason. It offers a Bargin Bin of chips which are clearly dollar store quality. The "Hot" sauce is pathetic, the cheese dips are COLD. How do you get cold cheese to be runny? thats disgusting. The taco meat is burn and dry and they ACTUALLY MICROWAVE MEALS IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMERS!! The cashier reminds me of a worn out lunch lady and they have White kids slopping the food togather, while the mexicans clean the tables... it should be the other way around. Somewhere in Mexico, a chef cries. DO NOT EAT HERE, go to Taco Bell for better food, service and atmosphere. If you include my Co-Pay at the hospital, our dinner for two was $118.00. Try Manny's downtown, or Mi Ranchito or go across the street to Chipolte, but avoid this place like the PLAGUE.